If the sales tax in your city is $3.6\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$97$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Explanation: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.6\%} \times {\$97} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.6\%$ is equivalent to $3.6 \div 100$ $3.6 \div 100 = 0.036$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.036$ $\times$ $$97$ = $$3.49$ You would pay $$3.49$ in sales tax.